Mark Jewell's Blog: Selling Energy, page 286

Is Knowledge Really Power?

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You’ve no doubt heard the old saying, “Knowledge is power.” “Knowledge” may be “power”; however, in many cases, efficiency salespeople (as opposed to efficiency sales professionals) lose the power of persuasion by trying too hard to demonstrate their knowledge. They talk way past the sale.  They overwhelm the prospect with too much information about what they do for a living, what their technology does, how their technology is installed and operated, and so forth. Believe me – most of that “knowledge” will not increase your probability of closing the sale. It will likely do the opposite.

Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes. You’ve just been thrown so much information that you’re probably going to think to yourself, "I didn’t think this was going to be such a complicated decision. I had no idea there were so many choices to make. In fact, I don't understand half of what this guy is saying! What if he doesn't understand half of what he is saying? What if he’s making it all up to earn a commission?  I'd better get a paid consultant in here to serve as my translator and make sure I don’t buy the wrong solution."

This is not to say that you shouldn’t be an expert on your product or service – you should be. However, don’t let your product knowledge drive the discussion. Focus on the “why,” and leave the “how” and “what” for later.

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Audit or Benchmark?

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You may recall that I have shared reasons why the free audit does not work. Today, we’ll discuss why ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® benchmarking is a superior alternative to the free audit, and how you can use benchmarking as a quick and easy way to get your foot in the door with a new prospect:

Considering how time-consuming a free audit can be, ENERGY STAR benchmarking is relatively fast. If you’re offering a free service as a calling card, your goal should be to provide the highest perceived value with the least effort, and benchmarking fits that bill.
Unlike an audit report, benchmarking results can’t be shopped around to other vendors.
ENERGY STAR benchmarking gives you an unbiased and authoritative read on the building’s energy performance, which should set the stage well as you propose what you plan to do to improve the building’s score.
Your building might actually get a high enough score to qualify for the ENERGY STAR label. If so, you’ve given your prospect a prize he or she didn’t even know existed, and you’ve created psychic debt.
Just because a building qualifies for an ENERGY STAR label doesn’t mean that there’s no room for further improvement. Suppose your prospect’s building scores a 75 (on a scale of 1 to 100). There’s a lot of improvement potential between 76 and 99.
Finally, if your prospect’s building gets a score that is legitimately in the high 90s, you will have saved yourself a lot of time just doing the benchmarking exercise rather than gearing up for an elaborate audit, only to discover that there’s little need for your solutions. 

If you’re interested in learning more about benchmarking, we offer comprehensive ENERGY STAR benchmarking training online, on-demand. Several utilities sponsor this training for their ratepayers, so you may be eligible to access it free of charge. For more information, visit www.BenchmarkingHelp.com.

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The Shortcomings of Simple Payback Period

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I’ve written several blogs about the perils of using Simple Payback Period (SPP) as a metric when evaluating proposed expense-reducing projects. I keep returning to this topic because so many efficiency salespeople still use this inferior yardstick, in many cases because they don’t know how to migrate the discussion from simple payback to a more proper metric. Today, we’ll discuss several shortcomings of SPP. Keep these concepts in mind the next time you encounter a prospect who insists on evaluating your project using this broken metric.

Simple Payback Period is blind to the time value of money. SPP treats every dollar received as if it were received today. This is not wise.  The sooner you receive your returns, the sooner you can reinvest those returns. Simply put, dollars that are returned to you sooner are worth more.

Simple Payback Period really has no visibility as to what happens after the date at which the initial investment is repaid. Suppose you present your prospect with two options to choose from. I’m sure your prospect would be interested to know that although Option 1 and Option 2 have the same Simple Payback, the former lasts only one year beyond the Simple Payback Period while Option 2 continues producing savings for 10 more years. Ultimately, the amount of profit your prospect makes is going to be determined by how long the investment continues to produce savings after its initial cost is recouped.

Many people think of payback as sort of a proxy for risk mitigation, figuring that the faster they get their money back, the less risky it is. That’s simply flawed reasoning!

A lot of other people think of payback as reimbursement of an expense. What they should be focusing on instead is the return they receive on their initial investment. Extending the analysis to include periods beyond the payback opens the door to considering your first cost as a true investment, rather than as an expense that you hope will be recouped through savings as quickly as possible.

Simple Payback Period also only considers the first year’s cash flow.  This is problematic in two ways:  1) it ignores irregular cash flows in later years; and, 2) it doesn’t take into account cash flows after the payback period. 

Even if you use “Cumulative Payback,” which tallies incoming cash flows (regular or irregular) and tells you how long it will take to recoup your initial investment, you’re still blind to the time value of money, and to the total amount of cash inflows you can expect to see over the analysis term. “Discounted Payback” offers the next level of accuracy (taking into account time value of money); however, it is still blind to returns occurring after the Discounted Payback Period. 

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A Beautiful Constraint

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Whether looking into our professional spheres or our personal lives, we are constantly faced with constraints that may affect our ability to act efficiently. Often times, many of our responses to these constraints may involve pulling back from the issue or finding ways around it. What if we took on a different approach to solving our issues by reframing them as opportunities for transformation?

In a richly anecdotal and innovative discussion, marketing consultant Adam Morgan and co-author Mark Barden encourage readers to recognize their habitual thoughts and emotional patterns in order to change how they problem-solve. A Beautiful Constraint: How to Transform Your Limitation Into Advantages, and Why It’s Everyone’s Business examines various ideas including: knowing your “dominant path” and think outside it; realizing that efficiency, not resources, drives results; and how to avoid placing unreasonable demands on yourself, your suppliers, and your customers. If you are interested in learning how to deal with restraints, especially self-imposed limits, more effectively, we highly recommend checking this book out.

Here is a summary from Amazon: 
A Beautiful Constraint: How to Transform Your Limitations Into Advantages, And Why It's Everyone's Business is a book about everyday, practical inventiveness, designed for the constrained times in which we live. It describes how to take the kinds of issues that all of us face today—lack of time, money, resources, attention, know-how—and see in them the opportunity for transformation of oneself and one's organization's fortunes. The ideas in the book are based on the authors' extensive work as business consultants, and are brought to life in 35 personal interviews from such varied sources as Nike, IKEA, Unilever, the U.S. Navy, Formula One racecar engineers, public school teachers in California, and barley farmers in South Africa. Underpinned by scientific research into the psychology of breakthrough, the book is a practical handbook full of tools and tips for how to make more from less. Beautifully designed and accessible, A Beautiful Constraint will appeal beyond its core business audience to anyone who needs to find the opportunity in constraint.

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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Weekly Recap, January 17, 2016

 
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Monday: Read up on the 27 challenges managers face and step-by-step solutions by Bruce Tulgan. 




Tuesday: What body language can tell you about how interested your prospects are. 




Wednesday: Other clues on body language and how to respond accordingly. 




Thursday: Try this trick out the next time you need a prospect to take interest in your product. 
 

Friday: Take Kare Anderson's challenge and be an opportunity maker for others. Watch her TED talkhere. 




Saturday: Read this article by The Muse on 6 life skills you need for work. 

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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6 Life Skills Needed for Work

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Here at Selling Energy, we encourage our team members to empower themselves by constantly improving their own professional development. Besides learning new software skills on Lynda.com, we also believe setting one’s self up for being in the right mind to succeed is important. For today’s blog on productivity, we are sharing The Muse’s article on “6 Life Skills You Better Pick Up if You Want to Succeed at Work.” Our favorites include mindfulness throughout all aspects of work, resilience when the going gets tough, and empathy for your peers, leaders and clients.

For the full article, follow the link below:
https://www.themuse.com/advice/6-life-skills-you-better-pick-up-if-you-want-to-succeed-at-work

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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Be An Opportunity Maker

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In my past blogs, I have shared the significance of networking and offered tips on how to make influential connections. If the idea of networking still seems a bit intimidating, I encourage you to reframe the idea into being an opportunity maker.

In her highly viewed TED talk, writer Kare Anderson emphasizes the current need to have a collective mindset, where individuals become opportunity-makers for one another. This idea encourages individuals to use their best talents to accomplish things for the greater good, together.

Learn more about what it takes to be an opportunity-maker and watch the TED talk below:
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Here is a summary from TED:
“We all want to use our talents to create something meaningful with our lives. But how to get started? (And... what if you're shy?) Writer Kare Anderson shares her own story of chronic shyness, and how she opened up her world by helping other people use their own talents and passions.

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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Listen Closely, Let Them Ask the Questions

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Passionate people love to talk about their passions. If you’re in the efficiency industry, you may be passionate about efficiency. One of the habits that I’ve noticed among passionate salespeople is that they dominate the conversation waxing poetic about their business. While it is great to show your passion, being verbose is not always the best way to create interest in your product or service. People value what they ask for more than what they are offered unsolicited.

So what does this mean for you? Suppose someone asks you what you do for a living. Rather than launching into a long spiel about your business, give a short response and ask them what they do. People love to talk about themselves, so you can build rapport by asking your conversation partner about his or her own business.

Once you learn a bit about the business in question, focus on something you can relate to. Perhaps you’ve worked with clients in your prospect's industry. If so, you could mention how much your product or service has benefited those particular clients. Chances are your prospect will be intrigued enough to start asking you questions to get more information.

This is just one example of the many ways in which you can create interest without explicitly saying why your product or service is interesting. Let the person with whom you’re speaking want to hear more and they’ll be more inclined to ask you questions.

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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Body Language, Part Two

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Today, we’ll continue with some more body language clues:

If your prospect feels confident in what they are saying or thinking, they may:
-Clasp their hands behind their back.
-Clasp their hands in front of their body.
-Touch their fingertips together.
-Sit in a dominant position. Taking up a lot of space while sitting with hands clasped behind the head or ankle crossed on opposite knee signals confidence.
Action: Avoid debate – the prospect likely knows a lot about the topic, and you don’t want to ruffle their feathers.

If your prospect feels defensive, they may:
-Fold their arms.
-Cross their legs.
-Note: Be intelligent as you evaluate these positions to make sure that you're actually seeing a shift in body language that correlates with the topic of discussion. In some cases, people may fold their arms or cross their legs simply to get comfortable.
Action: Try to be more flexible.

If your prospect is doubtful, they may:
-Hide or cover up their mouth.
Action: Reassure the prospect.

If your prospect is anxious, they may:
-Bite their fingernails.
-Fidget.
-Tap their fingers or heels.
-Jiggle the contents of their pockets.
-Whistle.
Note: Any one of these actions alone may not be a definitive sign of anxiety. Look for three or more of these symptoms before jumping to conclusions.
Action: Probe for the source of the anxiety and alleviate accordingly.

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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Body Language, Part One

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True sales professionals pay close attention to body language. Why is it valuable to understand body language? First, you get a relatively accurate gauge of your prospect’s thoughts and feelings based on these visual clues. This can help you decide what to talk about (and what to avoid talking about). Second, you become cognizant of what messages you’re sending with your own body language. You can use this knowledge to help build rapport with your prospect.

Over the course of the next two days, we’ll do a high-level fly-over of what body language can mean to you.

If your prospect has a positive reaction to what you’re saying, they may:
-Rub their eyebrows.
-Scratch their eyebrows.
-Scratch part of the forehead above their eyebrows.
-Push their eyeglasses back in place.
Action: Keep doing what you’re doing!

If your prospect has a negative reaction to what you’re saying, they may:
-Touch their nose.
-Scratch their nose.
-Note: They may have a cold or allergies. If so, don't read too much into it; however, touching or scratching the nose is generally a good indication that they're not really loving what you're saying.
Action: Shift to another talking point to move away from the negative evaluation.

If your prospect is interested in what you’re saying, they may:
-Tilt their head.
-Speak with greater vocal modulation (sing-songy speech patterns).
Action: Look for additional signs of interest.

If your prospect wants to leave the conversation, they may:
-Not stand directly facing you with their shoulders parallel to yours.
-Look at down at their watch.
Action: Redirect the conversation by changing the subject or asking a question.

Stay tuned for more on this topic tomorrow…

Love one of our blogs? Feel free to use an excerpt on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just be sure to send us a copy or link, and include the following at the end of the excerpt: “By Mark Jewell, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Selling Energy: Inspiring Ideas That Get More Projects Approved! This content is excerpted from the Sales Ninja blog, Mark Jewell's daily blog on ideas and inspiration for advancing efficiency. Sign up at SellingEnergy.com.”

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